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Dr. James Metz is restoring this vacant building to be used to manufacture devices for sleep apnea. But the project will be halted if his rezoning request is rejected.

Dentist's expansion meets stiff opposition -

It's about jobs, the dentist says.

It's about the neighborhood, residents say.

The battle has left Dr. James Metz wondering whether he'll ever be able to turn a vacant, dirty
building into a small business.

Metz bought the building behind his 1271 E. Broad St. office for $64,900 in November. One of its
brick walls had collapsed, and drug users often hung out there, Metz said. "This building was a
disaster."

He planned to invest $1 million to renovate the three-story building, converting one floor into
an area for 20 workers to manufacture an appliance to help patients with sleep apnea, a breathing
disorder. Three people now make the equipment in the basement of his Broad Street office, a
restored home where he also lives.

But the Near East Area Commission recently voted against his rezoning proposal, which also
includes turning a vacant lot across Wilson Avenue into a 23-space parking lot.

The city's planning division also opposes it and says the area's plan doesn't recommend
commercial development in the residential neighborhood, even though it's just a block from Broad
Street.

Metz said he has already spent $200,000 to shore up the floors and rebuild the wall. But he
can't get more financing without the rezoning.

"They need jobs in the area. It's a huge roadblock to business," he said of the area plan.

City planning administrator Vince Papsidero said that approving Metz's project would set a
precedent that could allow other businesses to creep into the neighborhood. But he suggested that,
if Metz jettisons his plans for the parking lot, the city might be more willing to approve his
rezoning request.

Metz said he is considering leasing parking from other property owners.

Kathleen Bailey, who leads the Near East Area Commission, said residents worry about the traffic
the business would generate.

"Nobody's against what he's trying to do. But the location does not lend itself to that type of
expansion," she said.

The commission's vote isn't binding, but it can sway the City Council's vote on a rezoning.

Metz's architect, Gary Alexander, said the resistance surprises him.

"Other landowners have approached Dr. Metz about buying their property and razing property," he
said. "We thought this was a more sensitive way.